"The second film in this timely and enthralling two-part documentary series reveals how Britain and America discovered compelling evidence that Pakistan was secretly helping the Taliban and concluded they had been double-crossed.

It tells the story of how under President Obama the US has waged a secret war against Pakistan. Taliban commanders tell the film makers that to this day Pakistan shelters and arms them, and helps them kill Western troops - indeed one recently captured suicide bomber alleges he was trained by Pakistani intelligence.

Chillingly, the film also reveals that, based on some evidence, Pakistani intelligence stands accused of sabotaging possible peace talks. Pakistan denies these charges, but relations between Pakistan and America now verge on hostility."

4.23.2012

A new Adam Curtis documentary! This is cause for excitement here at my house and this will come as no surprise to longtime readers/watchers of NA Films. In fact the third post on this site was for Mr. Curtis' The Power of Nightmares (still in my top 5 documentaries ever made) way back on July 12, 2010.

His new series, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is a three part documentary series which "argues that computers have failed to liberate humanity and instead have distorted and simplified our view of the world around us". In his signature style of deadpan narration and unbelievable archive footage, Mr. Curtis continues to go deeper and deeper into the matrix of modern society and uncover those in power who are trying to pull out strings.

Part I (from BBC website):A series of films about how humans have been colonised by the machines they have built. Although we don't realise it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of the computers. This is the story of the dream that rose up in the 1990s that computers could create a new kind of stable world. They would bring about a new kind global capitalism free of all risk and without the boom and bust of the past. They would also abolish political power and create a new kind of democracy through the internet where millions of individuals would be connected as nodes in cybernetic systems - without hierarchy.

The film tells the story of two perfect worlds. One is the small group of disciples around the novelist Ayn Rand in the 1950s. They saw themselves as a prototype for a future society where everyone could follow their own selfish desires. The other is the global utopia that digital entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley set out to create in the 1990s. Many of them were also disciples of Ayn Rand. They believed that the new computer networks would allow the creation of a society where everyone could follow their own desires, yet there would not be anarchy. They were joined by Alan Greenspan who had also been a disciple of Ayn Rand. He became convinced that the computers were creating a new kind of stable capitalism - "Like a New Planet", he said.

But the dream of stability in both worlds would be torn apart by the two dynamic human forces - love and power.

4.16.2012

I always feel optimistic when Adam and John mention e-mails from parents who listen to No Agenda - or when parents send in audio clips of their kids singing the jingles from the show. As a stay at home dad, my usual interactions with other parents are thru my son's preschool, story time at the library and PTA activities - mostly people asleep at the wheel when it comes to being a parent. With a four year old and a two year old living here, this weeks film freaked me out almost as much as last weeks NA Films Monday Movie. It's not entirely new information, nor should it be for any die-hard NA listener, but still nice to see all the information in one hour long documentary. Also, I had to include the poster with this post.

4.09.2012

Many thanks to Producer David for today's NA Films Monday Movie, The Largest Street Gang In America. However, this one comes with perhaps the largest disclaimer yet for a NA Films Monday Movie. It contains some very rough footage of extreme police brutality. It does have a kind of "car wreck" vibe where once I started watching it, I really wanted to stop, but couldn't look away.
I haven't found too much information on the folks who made this documentary, they are know as Boiling Frogs and are online via MySpace (yea, you read that right - MySpace). This film will infuriate you!